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November 28, 2003
[Misc.] Pizza
Papa John's Restaurant Locator
Posted by jones at 04:52 PM | Comments (1)
November 22, 2003
[Tech Support] how to draw a histogram in excel
[QuickStart Excel Histograms] you'd think it wouldn't be that hard, but it is.
Posted by jones at 09:23 PM
[Research] Modeling error discovery as failure
[8.2.1.5. Empirical model fitting - distribution free (Kaplan-Meier)
approach] In a random search for errors, one can model the probability of finding an error using methods for modeling the probability of failing. The K-M approach uses emperical data to generate a piece-wise model of failure probability as a function of time. The nice thing about K-M is that you do not need to claim that the data do or do not follow a particular distribution.
Posted by jones at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2003
[Research] Cray X1 perf eval numbers
[Cray X1 perf numbers] from a talk at SC.
Posted by jones at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)
[Tech Support] doxygen comment blox
[Doxygen comments] doxygen can read your properly formated comments and make pretty pictures from them
Posted by jones at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2003
[Research] Planet lab
[PlanetLab] a few hundred machines scattered around the world on which someone can run their experiments on the internet scale.
Posted by jones at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)
[Paper reviews] "Random Walk Based Heuristic Algorithms for ... Model Checking" by Sivaraj and Gopalakrishnan
[PDMC'2003 - Programme (paper not available)] Improve the performance of parallel random walks at finding errors by mixing in DFS and BFS as a kind of heuristic.
Four heuristics are proposed:
- Heuristic 1: Pure multiple random walks.
- Heuristic 2: RWs + bounded breadth first search from states visited by the random walks.
- Heuristic 3: Initial random walks + bounded breadth first search from the states visited by the initial random walks, followed by random walks from the states visited by bounded breadth first search.
- Heuristic 4: Initial random walks followed by second set of random walks from states visited by initial random walks.
[This figure is from the paper.] The dark discs represent periodic BFS searches of a neighborhood around a given state. The neighborhood search is designed to avoid the possibility of RWing past an error state. This is very similar to the casting behavior we considered. In heuristic 3, the local exploration is done and other nodes join the search at an expansion state. This further distributes the search.
Posted by jones at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2003
[Tech Support] cvs using ssh
[CVS through SSH] a good explanaition of the process.
Posted by jones at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2003
[Misc.] Phoenix Links
[Phoenix Metro Restaurant Guide]
Posted by jones at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2003
[Tech Support] Mail from Outlook to Entourage
FAQs for Entourage:Mac helpful in getting mail out of windows outloook and into entourage. As a Microsoft VP once said, "windows users don't like the inability to share data between applications" [paraphrase]. Outlook is very difficult to get data out of.
Posted by jones at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2003
[Tech Support] How to build a bibliography in latex
This is a set of instructions for building a bibliography in latex. It is designed to be a reference for students.
Here's the quick overview:
1. Create a .bib file. This is a text database of all your references. I have been using the same .bib file since 1996. It still contains every paper I've ever cited or thought about citing.
2. Add your entries to your .bib file. An entry has three main parts: a type, a label and the data. The label is what you'll use in your \cite{ } commands in your paper. The data is, well, the data. The easiest way to create bibtex entries is to use the bib mode in emacs.
3. Add a \bibliographystyle{alpha|plain|ieeetr} and \bibliography{bib-file-name-without-extension} to the end of your latex document just before \end{document}
4. When you want to cite something in your paper, simply add \cite{label}.
5. To build the bibliography do:
- latex paper.tex
- bibtex paper
- latex paper.tex
- latex paper.tex
Both latex and bibtex are very good about complaining when something isn't defined. Most people use a make file to build their papers.
Posted by jones at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2003
[Misc.] Storm Windows: Part II
[Mike Jones' Mostly CS Blog: Magnetic interior storm windows] So we ordered a window frame from "Magen-tite" or something like that. We waited about a month for the package to not arrive. A phone call or two reavealed that our package had been delivered to Massachusettes. It appears that they forgot to put the shipping label on the box before sending it. We cancelled our order. Lowe's might be able to use some interior storm windows, or I might make my own out of wood.
Posted by jones at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)
[Tech Support] Installing X11, Fink, Xemacs etc on OS X
My good friend Eric gave me a list of instructions for getting a "normal" X11 based environment on my powerbook. I have added links to the download locations for that which much be downloaded.
Detailed instructions from Eric Mercer:
Mike,
Here is everything you need to get up and running:
* Install all the developer tools:
/Applications/Installers/Developer Tools/Developer.mpkg
Customize the package list to include X11 SDK (this is important for
fink)
* Download and install Apple X11 from www.apple.com (X11User.pkg)
* Install fink from fink.sourceforge.net. Ran fink selfupdate
NOTE: the fink stall creates a .profile in your home directory that
puts the fink programs into the shell search path. This needs to be
sourced.
* apt-get update gets all the latest packages from fink.sourceforge.net [Me: apt-get never worked for me. It couldn't connect to a network. However, finkCommander worked just fine--after I copied it to the desktop rather than running it out of the install directory].
* apt-get install xfig [Me: fink install xfig worked fine. But then... it couldn't connec to an X display. Turns out that the thing to do is "/usr/bin/X11/open xfig" that also fires up an xterm. Additionally, "/usr/bin/X11/open xterm" fires up the xterm. From there its a normal X based environment]
* apt-get install gv
* apt-get install tetex
* apt-get install gimp
NOTE: You will be prompted to merge new groups into NetInfo. I let
the merge procede.
* Download and install fink commander from finkcommander.sourceforge.net
* Emacs:
Modify /sw/etc/fink.conf
Trees: local/main stable/main stable/crypto local/bootstrap -->
Trees: local/main unstable/main unstable/crypto local/bootstrap
On the command line run:
> fink selfupdate;
> fink index;
Start fink commander and install emacs21 from source 21.3-21
egm
Posted by jones at 09:41 AM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2003
[Paper reviews] "Model checking LTL over controllable linear" ... by Tabusa and Pappas
[Model checking LTL over controllable linear systems... ]
vocabulary:
- Controllable linear system: a linear control system is
x(t+1) = Ax(t) + Bu(t)
where x is a vector description of the system state, u is the inputs and A,B are matrices of rational (or real) numbers. Such a system is controllable if every state is reachable from every other state [MDJ: very interesting implications for modeling as Buchi automata and should simplify the detection of accept states in cycles--if that's the way they go with this] The translation of a controllable linear system to a transition system (using the definition below) is pretty straightforward except for the definition of the observation space and mapping which are defined as part of the abstraction.
- quotient system
- denumerable set
- quotient system on a denumerable set
- bisimilar: there is an simulation relation and an inverse simulation relation between two transition systems. A and B are bisimilar if B mimics every move of A forward and backward. (p 5) Bisimilation implies languages are equal. Language equivalence preserves interpretation of LTL formulae (and mu-calculus in general for that matter).
- bisimilar quotient
-
What is the main contribution?
Posted by jones at 08:20 PM | Comments (0)
[Research] Common Object File Format specs
[Chapter 7 Common Object File Format (COFF)
Posted by jones at 08:02 PM | Comments (0)
[Misc.] XP - [P]roblems = X
[InformationWeek > Security > More Fixes From Microsoft > November 12, 2003] I've been switched over to Mac OS X (or however you write that) for two days now and already there's a new update for Windows that I don't have to download. That was fast!
Posted by jones at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)
[Tech Support] Scripting tutorial for OS X
O'Reilly Network: Scripting Mac OS X [Nov. 07, 2003] Don't have time for this now, but later it might be more interesting.
Posted by jones at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2003
[Research] embedded systems at NSF
NSF Program Announcement/Solicitation: Embedded and Hybrid Systems
Might be worth a try. Deadline in December though.
Posted by jones at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)
[Tech Support] Open and Closed Powerbook Questions
So the new powerbook is working out great. Its cute, its fast, its quiet and, best of all, it has a glowing apple on the back of the screen! I love the change, its refreshing and having one mouse button hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Here's what I can't figure out...
- How do I tab between buttons and drop-down lists in Safari? I will switch back to explorer for os X if I can't figure this out. Though safari and explorer look just the same to me so it doesn't matter.
- How do I install my printer? The printer has an IP address and speaks HP LaserDirect (or whatever its called).
- What's a good RSS aggregator for mac OS?
- can I export my iCal RSF feed in a meaningful way to an MT blog? [yes, see Phil's comment below]
- I need emacs and latex. [on the way. See entry on installing fink]
- And I am going to need a postscript viewer? the ps to pdf is good, but slow. [Yes, and you have one now]
- how do I set up ssh with authorized keys? [run ssh-keygen, as expected]
- How do I tab between windows? [either use
-arrows or -numbers]
Posted by jones at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
[Tech Support] Docking station for the powerbook
[BookEndz Home Page] Not sure why apple doesn't make one of these, but bookendz doesn't either, yet.
Posted by jones at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2003
[Tech Support] Setting up bookmarklets for Safari
[w00t: MT Bookmarklets in Safari & Chimera]
The main trick, in addition to what's described above, it figuring out how to edit a bookmark address in Safari. So in the end, I just dragged the bookmarklet link into the address field. Then I edited it in the address field. Then I pressed enter and then I bookmarked that location.
Posted by jones at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)
[Misc.] plastic resin casting
Posted by jones at 07:42 PM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2003
[Research] Running BrickOS inside GDB using H8/300 target
We want to use GDB as an animator to run instructions inside or nascent model checker for C programs on the Mindstorm running the BrickOS operating system. The first step is to run the BrickOS in GDB. Here's how we did it...
- build GDB with H8/300 target. (see EGM for details).
- fire up the new gdb.
- do target sim
- do load legOS.srec
- note the starting adress of the os.
- do set $pc=starting address
- do run
Posted by jones at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
[Education] Configuring WIMPE
[Mike Jones' Mostly CS Blog: Conference Management Software] We are using Wimpe to run the review process in CS 611. I need a slightly different review form than wimpe assumes. Wimpe was clearly not written to handle different review forms. But, here's a way: the review page lives in $wimpe-root/build/scripts/messages/review-html then the script in $wimpe-root/review-reg.cgi checks the review form. I did not find a place to change the review categories and have them propogated to all the right places.
Posted by jones at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2003
[Research] BrickOS on Windows
[brickOS 0.2.6.10 Instructions for installing on Win9x/NT/2000/XP] mostly just throw on cygwin and do the right things.
Posted by jones at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2003
[Misc.] That's it. It's on.
[Herald.com - P. Diddy Marathon time] Ok. That's it. If "P. Diddy" can run a marathon in 4h 15m on 2 months training then I should be able to run one in at least that given that my 1/2 time is 1h 50m. Its on. Moab 1/2 in March in Salt Lake or Moab full in April. Plus, I need to win back my "King of 13.1 miles" title from one Eric G. Mercer.
Posted by jones at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)